One reason is that with experience, things get easier. This holds true for private investigators as well as anyone else. If a PI has done several cases in a certain area. he learns how to carry out that type of investigation more easily. He also makes contacts that are able to help in future cases. Often, he’ll get referrals if a client is pleased with his work.

Specialties

So what specialties are there in the field of private investigation?

Public Records and Witness Interviews

One area is depositions and public records searches. By nature, a PI is good at analyzing data. This is why public record searches suit him well. He can pour through records and see how it ties into a case. He knows what type of information his client wants and is adept at obtaining it. He’s also good at “reading” people. This makes him a valuable asset in interviewing witnesses. A witness is more likely to share information with a PI than with a lawyer. Also, an investigator intuitively knows how to question the friends, neighbors, and business associates of a person in question.

The Internet

A private investigator is also good at digital research. With Internet access so easy now, PIs have learned to use it to full advantage. Often he can find valuable information or clues about the case from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and such sites. People actually leave a digital trail and a good investigator can find out about love interests, incriminating alliances, assets that aren’t supposed to exist, and a hint of monetary gain that’s hidden. This is a less suspicious way to gather information than surveillance, as it is unlikely that the target will ever know he’s being tracked, whereas it’s much more likely that someone being followed may suspect this and alter the normal routine to throw off anyone doing so. The FTI Consulting Technology practice is a company that offers clients software, services, and consulting support to help streamline procedures that are often prone to the risk of discovery.

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Surveillance

This is an area that people associate with PIs, as it has been featured in movies for a long while. While not the only skill that he has, one has to do some of this with acumen. In the case of a cheating spouse or dealer of illegal goods, this is sometimes a must.

Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud is rampant and insurance companies aren’t happy about paying out at any rate, especially if the claim is questionable. Actually, disability insurance claims are often routinely investigated. Although a company may approve a claim, they may very well send out a private investigator to keep surveillance for a period of time. Some companies will use even mundane events as evidence that you’re disabled even though the disability may be due to a condition that doesn’t limit all of your activity.

In the case of an automobile accident, an investigator has a wealth of knowledge about how to find those who have witnessed the accident, although this isn’t an easy task.

Why Hire a Private Investigator

Insurance companies have many employees. They have different jobs. When it comes to a questionable claim, it’s less costly to hire an investigator than to have an employee do this type of work. The investigation will undoubtedly take a lot of time and rather than pay an employee for all those hours as well as the benefits, it’ll cost less to have someone do it for a specific fee.

An attorney’s office usually has a limited number of employees and they need to spend their work time uncovering the technicalities of the law and appearing in court, as well as dealing with clients. It’s to their advantage to hire a private investigator to do what he does best – dig up the facts.